Weekend Madness

So, the parental units were in town this past weekend for one night. They were basically doing a fly-by visit. We went out to dinner in Santa Monica and stopped into a small hole in the wall place to have dinner. We did not have reservations and knew we would have a long wait anywhere we went so we put our name in and saddled up to the bar...the very very crowded bar.
After waiting about 30 minutes and making conversation with a few strangers, I look over at the door and see a semi-celebrity from SNL fame. He often plays a monkey and looks like one too. He and his friends stroll up to the host and act as if they own the place. All I could think was...Crap there goes our table. We waited another ten minutes and watched as the monkey and his friends were seated at a table before us, but at a very undesirable table. It was the first table inside the doorway and was surrounded by people standing at the bar and squeezing past on the other side to leave the restaurant. My parents and I were seated within a couple of minutes after them and we were taken through the kitchen, past the ice machine and back into a small room that held three tables.
It was called the Rat Pack room because a long while back the Rat Pack used to enter through a back door and use this room as their private dining room. We shared the room with a bunch of guys celebrating a bachelor party and another table of four women who flirted with the bachelor party. It was a strange evening to share with the parents but all in all it was a lot of fun. The host explained to us later that he had no idea who the monkey was and that the bartender made sure he sat them so there was not a scene. We were just happy that we got a better table with more room and toward the end of the dinner we were the only ones left in the Rat Pack room.
Wish the parental units could have stayed longer, but they flew out the next morning after a great breakfast at the local cozy cafe.
Just finished "Plain Truth" by Jodi Picoult. Are all of her books court room related?? Fast read and good, but I know that I could not read her books back to back because the characters are all written very similar.
Got a new library card in a neighboring town and rented the second Tales of the Otori book that I could not find at my regular library as well as a book called "Serving Crazy with Curry" by Amulya Malladi.

Oh, so old

Ok, a tiny rant if I may. For christmas I received some really nice sunglasses (Spy brand) and the style that I was given were a bit too small for my large cranium so I went back to the surf, skate shop where they were purchased. The kid behind the counter gave me such attitude that if I weren't the chill person that I am, I would have gotten a bit violent. Now, whenever I put my sunglasses on (the ones that fit because he finally called the owner, who is a friend of a friend, who told the punk ass kid to make the trade) I think of the interaction that I had at the store. When I put them on today I kept thinking have I crossed that age where I am too old to be wearing these sunglasses. The funny thing about them is, the reason I like them is due to the fact that the lenses are fabulous...everything looks more crystal clear, if I were younger and more like the punk-ass in the store I would have only bought them as a fashion statement and probably scratched up the lenses with in a matter of days. I am hoping I can soon put on these sunglasses and not think of that little punk in the store.
Finished "A Million Little Pieces" by James Frey over the weekend. Powerful book, good read.
Quick second rant: wallpaper in bathrooms...more on that later.

Holidays

Can you pick a more crazy time to try and see everyone in the limited days that you get time off from your job. Ack the holidays.
In a span of five days I averaged one city a day. I call it the midwest tour to see relatives and friends and then get back on the plane to leave. I got in at 2am last night and then got myself off to work by 8am and for some odd reason have a burst of energy this evening in which I have unpacked, reorganized, and started several projects.
My cookie baking extravaganza is over. I made sandies, sugar cookies, brownies, choc chip, and shortbread. I wanted to also make some gingerbread, but bought enough of that at the store that I thought I might end up turning my eyes into frosting.
Books that I received over the holidays and hope to enjoy:
Time Travelers Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
Tokyo Cancelled - Rana Dasgupta
The Historian - Elizabeth Kostova
A Year in the Merde - Stephen Clarke
Five Quarters of an Orange - Joanne Harris
Plain Truth - Jodi Picoult
Thank you for Smoking - Christopher Buckley
The Little Friend - Donna Tartt
I will let you know what they are like. :)
I need a vacation right after this vacation.

Oh blast. I just wrote a huge email detailing a ton of the books I have read this month and then I lost it. Argh.
So, I am going to post a shorter version.
I have been spending a lot of my free time absorbing books. My library card is starting to bend from excessive use. I am not much of a review writer, but I can let people know which book is worth a read or can stay on the shelf.
Right now I am reading "Tales of the Otori - Across the Nightingale Floor" by Lian Hearn (book one in a three book series) : Really well-written and an easy read. I started this morning and am already halfway through the book. I am going to rent out the second and third immediately. Not sure if my liking is partly due to my interest in Japan or that the characters seem so real in this book.
Other books that I have read in the last month include:
"My Sister's Keeper" - Jodi Picoult: A slight downer, but good read with fantastic characters. I am still split on whether or not I liked the ending.
A Treasury of Scandals - Michael Farquhar: More fact fact fact and less storyline that involves, but packed with great secrets about the royalty. I am glad I checked this one out from the library as I probably would not want to have paid for it, but it was interesting.
The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency - Alexander McCall Smith : Great, fast and funny! Loved the characters.
Drowning Ruth - Christina Schwarz: It is with great trepidation that I rent out a book from the Oprah book list as she usually picks out books that are depressing, heartwrenching, and syrupy. This book would fall under the category of depressing. I did not really like any characters except the dead one, but I kept reading to find out what really happened at the drowning.